Separator.



W. G. LEET.

SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 15, 1915.

3 174 743 Patented Mar. 7,1916.

IN VENTOR.

HIS ATTORNEY IN FACT WILLIAM G.

menu, or SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOR 'ro THE METER COMPANY, ACORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

PITTSBURGH SEPARATOR.

mam.

Application filed June 15, 1915. Serial No. 34,203.

To allwhom iii-may concern: I

Be it known that 1, WILLIA G. LEET, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of Shreveport, in theparish of Caddo and State of Louisiana, have made a new and usefulInvention in Separators, of which 'the following is a specification.

in use or known to me.

The gas issuingfrom a gas well ordinarily carries or entrams solidmaterial such as sand and it is ordinarily saturated with condensablevapors which will condense at the pressures and temperatures ordinarilyencountered in the distribution system. The

necessity for removing these impurities from the gas priorto deliveringitto the distribution system is well known, and various types ofurifiers, separators, extractors, etc.. have been deyised to accomplishthe removal of the same, but so far as I know, no entirely satisfactoryapparatus had been employed up to the time of my present invention. I

The apparatus heretofore used either are ihefiectivein operation or theyare objectionable by reason of the fact that they are complicated instructure and require spe-v cial care and skill while in operation. Inaddition to this, there is, sofar as I know,

no Tcommercial apparatus which is continuous in operation and which iseffective in simultaneously removing both the solids and liquids orcondensable vapors from the gas. f A further object of my inventionistherefore to produce a simple and effective continuously operatingseparator which will simultaneously remove both the solid and system.

condensable vapor s and liquid from the gas prior to delivering it tothe distribution These made apparent throughout the further descriptionof my invention, are attained by means ofapparatus embodying thefeatures Specification of letters Patent.

and other objects, which will be PatentedMar. 7, 191a.

In, the illustrated embodiment of the in vention, gas from a source ofsupply, suchfor example as one or more wells, 1s received through a pipeline 4, in which is locateda pressure reducingdevice' 5, here shown as aregulator, such as is ordinarily employed, which is adapted to throttlethe flow of gas traversing the line 4 insuch a way as to reduce itspressure to a pressure which is desirable in the distribution system.While the regulator shown is of the type which automatically varies theamount of throttling of the gas or the amount of gas delivered inaccordance with variations in the pressure of the gas at the deliveryport thereof, this refinement may not be essential in every embodimentof my invention, since, under some conditions, any pressurereducingdevice, which throttles the flow of gas from the pipe line. maybe employed.

The, throttling of the gas as it passes through the pressure reducingdevice 5 occasions a forced expansion of the gas and the entrainedcondensable-vapors, which takes place at the expense of. the heat storedin the gas. The expansion results in a material drop in the temperatureof the gas which is suflicient, undertheordinary pressuresencountered,to cause 'the entrained condensable vapors, such as watervapor and .vapors of relatively low volatile hydro-carbon liquids, tocondense. In apparatus em-" bodying my invention the reduction in the"temperature of the gas and the resulting condensation of thecondensable vapors 'carried by the gas, together with the increase inthe velocity of the gas, occasionedby the g expansion, are employed inthe removal of impurities from the gas. To this end aseparator chamber 6is located immediatelyadjacent to the pressure reducing device 5, and anozzle 7, which receives the expanded gas delivered the device 5,projects into 1 I the chamber 6 through an inlet port 8 with which thecasing 9, inclosing the chamber, is provided. As .illustrated, thenozzle 7 is turned so that its delivery end projects downwardly anddischarges at a point within the chamber immediately above arecrementdischarge' port 10, with which the casing 9 is provided. Asillustrated, the discharge end of the nozzle is slightly convergent sothat the gas issuing therefrom is directed downwardly in a more or;lesssolid stream toward the discharge port 10. A With; this arrangement theimpurities carried by the gas are more or less concentrated and aredischarged downwardly toward the discharge port 10. The upper end of thecasing 9 is provided with a gas delivery port 11 through which the gasis delivered to a distributing main 12, and as illustrated, the casing 9is provided with a series of bafll'e plates .15 which extend partiallyacross the separator chamber and provide an extended surface on whichthe moisture carried by the gas traversing the separator chamberv maycollect. r a As illustrated, the discharge port is located at the lowestpoint of the casing 9 and is connected by means of a short pipe section13 to a receptacle ,or reservoir- 14, which is located 'below the casing9. .With this arrangement the impurities, carried by 35 the gas issuingfrom the nozzle 7, will be discharged into "the receptacle 14 by reasonof the fact that they are projected from the nozzle at a high-velocityand their inertia tends to cause them to continue their downward motion,whereas the gas itself, issuing from the nozzle, first comes to restwithin thecasing 9 and then reverses its direction of flow and proceedstowardthe delivery port 11 of the casing. The pipe section 13 end of the'nozzle 7 so that the impurities carried by the gas will be dischargedfrom the nozzle directly through the section 13 into the receptacle 14.The discharge end of the nozzle 7 is preferably so located with in thecasing that the reversal in flow of the gas take place wholly withinthecas ing A but in the immediate neighborhood of the port 10, since .areversal in flow of the gas within the pipe section 13 will tend toimpede the delivery of impurities through the is preferably axiallyalined with the deliveryv or nearthe lowest portion of the reservoirthrough which a continuous flow of liquid may pass. It is essential,however, that this reservoir be of suificient, capacity to take care oflarge quantities of water which may be delivered from the wells throughthe field lines, to the separator, since when water isencountered inlarge quantities it is invariably delivered through the field linesheaders or waves. The reservoir 14-75 should therefore'be of suflicientcapacity to receive the headers or waves of water and to prevent themfrom interfering with the normal operationof the apparatus. In someinstallations I find that a section of relatively large pipe provides anadequate reservoir 1 1, and I have also found that it may be desirableto provide means for flushing. out this reservoir with liquid other thanthat receivedfrom the chamber 6. 1

In the drawing I have illustrated the reservoir provided with a' flushpipe 16, through which water may be delivered. The reservoir is alsoprovided with a recrement discharge port 17 which is shown connected bymeans of piping 18, to a pressure regulator or'reducing valve 19, thedischarge port of which communicates with a second reservoir orreceptacle 21. This reservoir 21 is usually located at a level abovethat of the reservoir 14', since the reservoir 14' is ordinarily locatedso far below the surface of the ground that itwould be impractical todrain the reservoir 21 if'it were on a level with the. reservoir 14. Thereservoir 21 is providedwith a discharge port 22 which is in opencommunication with one leg of a trap-23,the other leg of; whichcommunicates with a discharge pipe 24, from which the water, liquid andsolid matter separated from the gas are discharged. The trap 23 is ofsufficient depth to prevent gas bubblingthrough it to the atmosphere.

As illustrated, the regulator 19 is of the type provided with anoperating diaphragm 11.0

which is located in a pressure chamber 19. The upper face of thediaphragm or the upper. portion of the chamber 19 is placed incommunication. with the reservoir 21 or with the delivery port of theregulator 19*by means of piping 26. This piping is provided with arestricted discharge port 25, which may be controlled, by a needlevalve. and "through Whi'chgas delivered to the reservoir 21 with thewater is discharged. The operation of the regulator 19 is as fol-- lows:So long as liquidis discharged from f the reservoir 14 through thepiping 18, the regulator 19 will remain open, since the water deliveredby'it to the reservoir 21 will exertno back pl'essure in the reservoir21 and consequently willnot actuate the diagphragm contained withinthe'chamber 19 I i As soon as gas is delivered through the regulator 19to the reservoir 21, the pressure 23 prevents the discharge of the gasto the atmosphere. This gas pressure within the in this'reservoir piles.up, due to the fact that the column of liquid within the trap reservoir2lis transmitted to the actuating diaphragm of the regulator 19 throughthe piping] 26, and is effective in closing the regulator and therebyshutting ts communication between the reservoirs 14 and 21.

By this arrangement the waste of gas is limited 'to the relatively smallquantities the piping 18.

soon as the gas ressure in-the reservoir 21 has decreased su ciently topermit the opening of the regulator '19, the regulator will open andremain open provided a continuous-flow of liquid isdelivered to itthrough The operation of the apparatus is as follows: Let it be assumedthat the gas in the pipe line 4 is at a pressure of 100 pounds andthatit is desirable to maintain a pressure of approximately 20 pounds inthe distributing system. The pressure reducing device 5 will, therefore,be adjusted so" as to maintain a pressure "of approximately 20 pounds inthe chamber 6. The gas deliveredby the device 5 increases materially involume or expands because of the lower pressure encountered within thechamber 6, and thisexpansion, as has been described, results. in a dropin temperature and of course an increase in the velocity of flow throughthe nozzle 7. This reduction in temperature occasions a condensation ofthe condensable vapors carried by the gas, which takes place prior tothe discharge of the gas from the nozzle 7. The liquids resulting fromthe condensation and the liquids carried by the gas are collected insmall globules or, if sufficient liquid is present, into a stream byreason ,of the fact that the delivery end of the nozzle is convergent.These liquids" are heavier than the gas and by reasonof their inertia,drop tothe bottom of the chamber -6 or are discharged through the port10 at the time of reversal in flow of the gas issuing from the nozzle. 1

This moisture in the gas, the high velocity of flow as the gas issuesfrom the nozzle 7,

and the reversal of flow of the gas within the chamber 6 areeifective inseparating the solid matter, such as sand, mud, etc.,

from the stream of gas. The liquid carried by the gas tends to collecton any solid particles entrained by the gas and to thereby increasetheir weight. versal in flow of the gas the solid particles resist achange in the direction of their motion by reason of their inertia andconsequently either fall through the port 10, or collect on the bottomof the chamber 6,

At the time of re-' from which they are washed by the accumulation ofmoisture. stood that the gas practically comes to rest at the time ofreversing its flow, or in other words, at the time of changing itsdirection of motion from that toward the bottom of. the chamber 6 to amotion toward. the

port 11' at-the top of the casing, it will be clearly understood thatgravity will effect the desired separation from the gas of the liquidscarried by'the gas, condensed liquids In addition to this, the gas inleaving the chamber 6 traverses a cirand solid matter.

cuitous path, by reason of the arrangement of baflles 15, in which itsdirection offlow is reversed'a number of times and in which it isexposed to a relatively large wetted surface which will have a highaflinity for the moisture carried by the gas and will be effective inremoving substantially all of the moisture from the gas before itreaches the port 11.

The liquids, condensed liquids and the solid, matter separated from thegas will eventually collect inthe receptacle 14 from which they areforced through the reducing valve 19 into the elevated receptacle 21 bythe pressure of the gas within the chamber 6 The valve 19 is preferablyset to reduce the pressure from 20 pounds in the reservoir 14 to a poundor less in the reservoir 21. Under/ ordinary conditions there will besufiicient moisture separated from the gas to cause a continuous flow ofliquid through the ,port 17 and'to carry the solid matter with it fromthe receptacle 14, but as previously described this receptacle may beperiodicallyflushed Without interfering with the operation of theseparator. Under ordinary conditions there will be a continual flow ofliquid through the receptacles 14 and 21 and consequently these liquidstogether with the solid matter will pass to the trap 23 and bedischarged.

' If, however, the flow of liquid to the reservoir 21 ceases, becausethe liquid the reservoir 14 is exhausted, gas will pass to the reservoir21, and, as before'described, will actuate the regulator 19 to closecommunication between the reservoirs 14 and 21. As soon as the gaspressure within the reservoir 21 again decreases, due to the leakage ofgas through the port 25, the regulator will again open and will. remainopen if a con-- tinuous flow of liquid is delivered to it from' thereservoir 14.

The principal features of my invention are that, the apparatus embodyingit is simple both in construction and in operation; the condensablevapors, liquid and solid matter carried by the gas are simultaneouslyabstracted; the liquids separated from the gas are effective inaccomplishing the necessary A washing of the gas and the separation ofthe solidmatter, and the apparatus is continuous in operation and isself cleaning.

When it is under-' I Having now described one embodiment of myinvention, what I-claim is:

1. A; separator having a gasadmission -port communicating with thesource of gas supply, a gas delivery port communicating with thedistribution system, and a recrement-discharge port, and a pressurereducing device between the admission port of said separator and thesource .of gas supply, so located with reference to the separator thatthe drop in temperature occasioned by the passage'of gas through saidpressure repp y,

ducing device is employed in the removal of condensable vapors from thegas as it traverses the separator.

2. In combination with a source ofgas supply, a pressure reducing deviceto which gas from said'source is delivered, a separa: tor chamberlocated adjacent to said device, a nozzle projecting downwardly Withinsaid chamber and communicating with said device, a recrement receptaclelocated below said chamber and in open communication with a recrementdischarge port'with which the chamber is provided.

3. In combination with a source a separator chamber having a gasadmission port, a gas delivery port and a recrement discharge port,. apressure reducing (kv'ice between the admission port of said chamber andthe source of gas supply, so located with reference to said chamber thatthe reduction in temperature occasioned by the expansion of the gaspassing said device is eifective in condensing the condensable vaporscarried .by the gas entering said chamber, a downwardly projectingnozzle located within said chamber, discharging near the bottom of saidchamber and receiving expanded gas delivered by said device,

and a seal for said discharge port.

located in of gas.

magma 4. In a gas separator comprising a separator chamber having a'gasdelivery port located near the upperend thereof and a continuously openrecrement discharge port the bottom of the chamber, a gas deliverynozzle projecting intosaid chamber and having its discharge end near thebottom of the chamber, a pressure reducing device between the source ofgas-supply and the chamber located immediately adjacent to the chamberand communicatin with said nozzle, anda liquid seal for sai recrementdischarge port. 7

5. A gas separator, comprising a separating chamber having a gasdelivery port 10- cated near the upper end thereof and a recrementdischarge port located in the bottom thereof, a source of gas supply, a

pressure reducing device between said source of supply and said chamber,and a nozzle communicating with said device and projecting into saidchamber with its discharge end located near the bottom of the chamber.

\ WILLIAM G. LEET.

Witnesses; GEO. A. RANDOLPH,

J N0: A. NORTHCO'I'I.

my name this 2nd day of June,

